View XML in a structured tree format. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the XML collection.
Use Cases
Backend devs exploring complex SOAP or REST XML responses
Data engineers inspecting XML feeds from third-party vendors
QA engineers verifying XML test data structure and values
Technical writers reviewing XML-based documentation formats like DITA
Tips
Expand and collapse nodes to navigate large XML documents
Search within the tree to find specific elements or attributes
Click a node to see its full XPath for use in queries
Fun Facts
The largest XML file ever publicly documented was a 5.4 GB Open Street Map data export containing billions of nodes.
XPath, the XML query language, was published as a W3C standard in November 1999 alongside XSLT 1.0.
XML's tree structure directly inspired the Document Object Model (DOM), first standardized by the W3C in 1998.
FAQ
How does this help with big XML files?
The viewer renders XML as a collapsible tree. Collapse top-level nodes to scan structure; expand individual branches to inspect detail. Much faster than scrolling raw text.
Does it support XPath queries?
Not in the viewer itself — use the XML Parser for XPath. The viewer is for structure exploration; the parser is for extraction.
Will it show me namespace prefixes?
Yes. Namespace declarations are visible on each element and the tool's tooltip resolves prefixes to full URIs.
Can I edit in the viewer?
No — the viewer is read-only. Use the XML Editor if you want live editing with validation.
